Right about now everything – including the safety videos we’ve seen 100 times – are among the things we miss about flying.
We especially miss the fun safety videos that airlines offer up in an effort to get us to pay attention when we’re on the planes – or off.
So if France on your list of places you’ll go as soon as the coast is clear, then take a look at this new safety video out from Air France.
In it, two flight attendants lay out all the important instructions that you’ll see in any safety video, but while also visiting iconic French landmarks such as the Opéra Garnier, the gardens of the Palace of Versailles, and the sunny French Riviera. The virtual tour continues through the vineyards of Provence, past museums, a fashion show, a typical French café terrace, and along the banks of the Seine and its famous booksellers.
The safety briefing ends where you might expect: at the top of the Eiffel Tower.
Airports and airlines around the country hosted celebrations on Sunday for the launch of several new routes.
Dallas-Fort Worth International celebrated the inaugural Air France flight to Paris Charles de Gaulle.
The flight will
operate up to five time a week on the Airbus A330 aircraft.
🇫🇷 Get your suitcases ready! Service to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport with @AirFrance officially begins this afternoon, providing more connecting opportunities to over 70 destinations across Europe and Africa. pic.twitter.com/KSuEzsnfJ5
The festivities for Cathay’s Pacific flight included a Lion Dance, a special cake and the ceremonial cutting of a roast pig, which is a symbol of good luck and prosperity.
A few month’s back I was invited – actually, challenged – to visit Paris and London in just four or five days.
“Not possible,” I insisted. But I was willing to give it a try.
Here’s a slightly edited version of the story I wrote for Travel + Leisure with some ideas for how to do it.
Getting there
and back
To make this fast trip work, fly into one city and out of the
other, and book a seat on the high speed Eurostar train to
travel between the two.
Plenty of airlines fly between the US and both London and Paris
and it is possible to find deals on a one-way or open-jaw ticket using tools on
airline comparison sites or a knowledgeable travel advisor.
British Airways currently offers up to 50 flights from the U.S.
to London each day, depending on the season, from 26 U.S. gateways and will be adding
flights from both Pittsburgh and Charleston to London in April 2019. The
airline allows passengers to cut the cost of flights by using Avios points towards
payment.
Air France currently offers more than 150 flights a week to
Paris from 12 U.S. cities and is adding Dallas/Fort Worth as its 11th
U.S. gateway on March 31, 2019. The French flag carrier offers flash fares to Paris (and other
destinations) about once a month, so sign up to follow the carrier’s Facebook
and Twitter accounts.
Eurostar trains make the trip from city center to city center,
between London’s St. Pancras International
Station to Gare du Nord in Paris, in
just over 2 hours for a little as $60 each way. Eurostar ticket pricing
fluctuates like airline tickets, with the lowest prices usually offered for
midweek travel. Be sure to hold onto your boarding pass: it offers 2-for-1
entry to many museums and exhibitions in both cities.
Where to stay; what to do
Coal Drops Yard
In
London, there are lots of hotel to choose from right near St. Pancras International railway station, which is steps from
the British Library and its many free events and
exhibitions. Nearby is the Wellcome
Collection, a
hip and free science and health-themed museum that markets itself to the “incurably
curious.”
Coal Drops Yard, built in 1850 to handle the eight million tons of
coal delivered to London each year, has been
transformed into the city’s newest trendy destination. Located in King’s Cross,
just a few minutes’ walk from St. Pancras, the shopping and dining center
boasts more than 50 stores, restaurants and cafés, including the flagship store
of Wolf &
Badger, which
gathers cool offerings from independent brands, and Casa Pastor, serving Mexican-inspired tacos,
alongside mezcals, Mexican beers and imaginative margaritas.
For convenience and a
hefty dose of the historic, splurge on a two-night stay at the St.
Pancras Renaissance Hotel, inside St. Pancras station. The “Seat to
Suite” package includes lounge access as well as a concierge escort between your
room and your seat on the Eurostar train, which departs from St. Pancras
station.
If you’ll be heading back to the states from Paris, choose a
hotel in the city center that offers easy access to museums, café and other top
attractions.
The newly renovated 97-room Renaissance
Paris Vendome Hotel, near the Tuileries Garden and the Louvre in the city’s historic 1st arrondissement
is a good option. Book a breakfast-included package (croissants galore!); seek
out nearby “hidden gems” suggested by the hotel’s “Navigator”; and let the
front desk book you a seat (preferably at the chef’s counter) in the hotel’s
popular-with-locals Balagan
Restaurant, which serves an ever-changing menu of Israeli-inspired
Middle Eastern meals.
You can save time by combining touring and fine dining by having
lunch or dinner at (or on) Ducasse sur Seine, chef Alain
Ducasse’s new restaurant on an electric boat offering diners a 90-minute cruise
on the Seine. Or board the Bustronome, a restaurant
inside a double-decker bus that drives by many of the city’s top sights during
a three-hour tour. (There’s a London version of this as well.)
You may not get your fill of croissants, baguettes, macarons or
other French pastries during a quick two-day visit, but you’ll learn some
professional French bakers’ tricks to take home during a gourmet walking tour
or a French breach-making class organized by a local tour group such as Meeting
the French.
It was officially completed in July (2018), but Air France’s business class lounge in Hall L of Terminal 2 E at Paris-Charles deGaulle Airport, still looks (and smells) brand new.
Here are some snaps from a recent tour of the 540-seat lounge capping off a fast four-day visit to London and Paris that included a ride on the Eurostar as part of the #LondonParisNow campaign.
The bar – called “Le Balcon” – was designed by Mathieu Lehanneur and is self-serve much of the day, but from 6:30 p.m. to about 10 p.m. there’s a bartender on duty mixing up a menu of specialty-created cocktails.
Photo _ Harriet Baskas
The wellness area include restrooms with saunas, 20-minute complimentary Clarins spa services, a ‘detox’ bar with healthy potions and a quiet rest area with day beds.
Detox bar at CDG Air France lounge . Photo _Harriet Baskas
Detox potions at Air France CDG lounge. Photo Harriet Baskas
There’s also a special play for kids and a ‘Petit Salon’ area offering extra privacy for special guests:
Air France lounge at CDG – Kids area. Photo-Harriet Baskas
And then, of course, there’s food. In addition to a self-serve buffet, there’s a “Gourmet Table” where a chef prepares a ‘dish of the day’:
Photo_Harriet Baskas
Air France says this is what passengers can look forward to in other cities where the lounges are scheduled to be upgraded as well.
Three new flights kicked off over the weekend that I wish I’d been on!
Air France began nonstop service to Paris from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Sunday, March 25.
The service adds to Delta’s flights between SEA and CDG and kicks off with three times a week service (Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays) on a Boeing 777-200 and increases to five times a week (adding Mondays and Tuesdays) during the summer season.
Air France first served Sea-Tac between 2007-2012, when that route was given taken over by Delta.
On Saturday, March 24, United Airlines kicked off seasonal nonstop daily service on a 787-8 Dreamliner between Denver and London Heathrow (LHR).
And over the weekend Qantas completed the inaugural – historic – flight for direct service between Perth, Australia and London. The 787-9 Dreamliner made the journey in ‘just’ 17 hours and 14 minutes.
